On July 3, Katie filed an aggressive legal action — an ’emergent application’ — in New York City court to determine immediate custody and child support issues over Suri Cruise. There is already a court date that Tom will have to attend! Only HollywoodLife.com has all of the EXCLUSIVE details!

Katie, 33, has taken a huge step in batting Tom, 50, a source close to the situation tells HollywoodLife.com EXCLUSIVELY.

“Katie filed an ’emergent application’ in New York City on July 3,” our source tells us. “It’s a motion seeking temporary emergency relief, which can include child support and custody. It also means that Tom is going to have to hire a New York lawyer — he can’t use his Calif. lawyer anymore. The motion also means that both Tom and Katie have to be present in court on July 17. A judge is now assigned to their case, which means it’s no longer going to be an out-of-court settlement. They are scheduled to appear before Judge Matthew Cooper on July 17 at 9:30 AM.”

Our source also said this filing sends a very clear message to Tom.

“Katie doesn’t anticipate Tom cooperating, and there have been rumors that he’s going to file in Calif. and argue that litigation should be there rather than New York. Bottom line: if you file an emergency motion, you don’t believe there’s going to be cooperation from the other party or you need an order that only the court can give. It might have something to do with trying to control the media.They filed under anonymous verses anonymous to avoid the media. Most celebs do that.

“It’s unlikely for a celebrity to file an emergency hearing, because most celebrities settle out of court because they don’t want the media involved in their case. Katie and Tom are now going to have an open court room, which means that anyone can walk in and see what’s happening. Plus, they are putting their case in the hands of a judge who is going to determine what happens next. Most public figures don’t want that — it’s a last resort. It’s super-aggressive for Katie to have taken these steps. It suggests that there’s going to be a contentious divorce battle to come.”

HollywoodLife.com also spoke EXCLUSIVELY with celebrity divorce attorney Vikki Ziegler, author of The Pre-Marital Planner, who told us what Katie is hoping to gain from this move.

“Tom is probably asking for parenting time,” she said. “She’s asking for it to be reviewed on an expedited basis to protect the child, Suri. She’s saying, “I want this case tried in New York, I want temporary full custody, I want child support and I may want my legal bills paid as well.”

HollywoodLife.com reached out to reps for both Tom and Katie, but we haven’t yet received a comment.

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